Self Improvement
I’m having a hard time.
So my friends, in complete honesty, I’ve not known what to say these last few months. So I’ve said very little. Instead, I’ve been watching, reading, being regrouping.
And I’m OK with that.
There was a time in my 30’s-40’s when I was living the competitive business & lifestyle; I couldn’t be comfortable with just being “OK.”
(Nor would my clients, employees, friends, and family be comfortable either.)
Yet I find I still feel like I need to explain myself.
It’s difficult to change deep cultural or learned behaviors/beliefs, especially when you’ve created your entire life’s definition of success on them.
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These days it’s even more uncomfortable & challenging not to know what’s next, have a solution, have a goal, or even a bread crumb of a direction to go in.
Life is feeling very unanchored.
…But maybe this is precisely what we’re meant to learn in this pause.
YET We RESIST! Even knowing confusion, setbacks, changes, feeling bad & good are all a part of everyday-reality. Life is rarely predictable or steady for very long.
If all our years left on this planet had one accumulative voice, I believe it would be SHOUTING at us ALL to get this, FINALLY & move on with living the life we have!…
I’ve come to understand in these times that the sensation of feeling “LOST” is just my mind and body asking me to STOP & process what is going on in Real-Time.
And that Real-Time maybe… weeks, months, and as it looks, all of 2020 &+!
Are we ever going to figure this thing out?
We may never know the TRUTH anyway …or anytime soon? Can you & I live with that? Can we continue to create a life worth living right now without a plan?
“Shed yourself of all that’s not aligned with the truth of YOU! … And if all goes to the divine plan, you will be unrecognizable on the other side of this FIRE– That’s what happens on the other side of Phoenix Rising.”
~Danielle Laporte
Our position in society is needed now more than ever. As a viable part & in the fabric of our culture!
I talked to my 20 something nephew the other day, and he so wants to hear from me, from us, from our generation and, in some way, feel, “It’s all going to be alright,” as told to him by a wise soul.
The place around the fire was where we had that power to share & promise in ancient days, where we shared our lived knowledge and created a place for the younger members of the tribe to learn, think, be, and hold. To grow feeling like they belong, they are safe & appreciated in their gifts & place in society.
Have we been shut-up, & scared off from sharing our gifts by our society’s belief of our worth in this role? Retreating to stay hidden away rather than draw attention and be rejected again?
Maybe we can start by getting clear & asking; Who are we? Who are we without all the things we typically have access to now? Who are we without your job, less money, less health, relationships, smartphones, technology, the internet, supplements, and injections?
Who are we without fear, anxiety, in love, hope, appreciation, in prayer, meditation, and gratitude? Who better to share these truths than you and me to our youth?
Show up for the opportunity in what’s happening now. I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
BELIEVE you have enough to say, to stumble over and share with the youth in your family, your community.
Women of our beautiful age, I believe, are being called to come back to our place of wisdom around The Circle. Called to share, in society, our knowledge, compassion, and alchemistic abilities in our experience & long perspective. Let’s say, yes!
So this is how I’ve been doing my human-ing, creating, & crafting my passion these DAYS! I am sure it’s going to look different from how it did before, but I’m trusting it has the potential to be better with our help.
How are you, my friends?
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Calm, Cool & Collected in COVID Times.
“She remembered and then she became Calm, Cool & Collected.”
It hasn’t been an easy couple of weeks, let’s just say.
I guess I’m thinking about this because right now, I’m feeling out of practice for how I like to live life. How about you? But aren’t we filled with enough age and experience to handle this too? Isn’t that what’s at the core of what I love to preach?
What was the point of going through all this if we aren’t even going to pay attention?
So I’m paying attention.
The world has seemingly changed around us. For many, the hope that once existed about the nature of the world and people has been lost. In times like these, it’s easy to shut down or shrink away into a place apart from ourselves and everything else.
So I’ve made a decision. This time will be different. This time I will take everything I learned from my recent past and the times before and applying them to right now! Of course, nothing is exactly a replay… but the emotional triggers sure are.
>> I will remember how many times all the self-induced stress ended up being for nothing.
>> I will remember how many times I didn’t get all I wanted, hoped for, and thought I deserved …because I ended up getting exactly what I needed! (And many times much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! )
>> I will remember the times that I thought I lacked something… or where I fell short, in money, in my career, etc. and how I quickly made up for them in various ways that, I never saw coming.
>> I will remember that the more I remember these things, a sense of calm always passed through me, and once again, I find myself bolder, calmer, with more energy and resources than I had before.
AND …This will be for me yet another fresh start. A new chapter. A chance to see what I’m made of. A chance to build endurance no matter what the storm & where I can always find my JOY.
AND It’s never too late or you’re never too old to learn something new!
XX Kathy
The Call of The Ageless Goddess.
The calling of the Ageless Goddesses
She’s endangered in this modern society … forgetting her place due to pressures she’s not yet figured out how to handle.
Hiding in silence until she finds her way.
It’s only a matter of time. Because …she is courageous, dynamic and fearless.
Filled with an empathetic heart oozing with compassion with which …she has so much to give.
She understands deeply that life is a heartbreakingly beautiful series of hellos, goodbyes triumphs and disappointments a wisdom so important to understand.
She feels most alive in the midst of transformation courageously shredding her old skin and giving birth over and over again… raw, unassuming with an open heart. It is her natural state of creating.
She is well-versed in having to letting go.
Sometimes swiftly set fire to the past. Other times boldly exhaling as she quietly move on with her life. She is rarely defeated by nature’s way & always optimistic in what lies ahead.
It’s with this gift .. of a certain age that she has Superpowers.
Those who know her marvel at her luminous nature of being light and airy, yet never lacking in depth.
She’s truly a light… a rich source of the female essence just waiting to be know. And soon to be a cherished resource for all.
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(Parts adapted from an unanimous poem written for the Elephant Journal in 2010)
**Kathy Camp is an entrepreneur and successful business owner for twenty-four years. At the age of 50 became a certified yoga instructor and a heath & wellness coach. Passionately Cultivating her brand of Ageless Living & Next Chapters. She is a midlife lifestyle strategist living her present chapter in Madrid Spain where she coaches international clients, creates Transitional retreat for women and is happily in a relationship with her partner renovating a first generational home in 15 century Spanish pueblo.
Breathing In Aphrodite.
Age & beauty can be huge subjects to reconcile when you choose to live agelessly.
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Especially if you were someone who dedicated most of what “society considers” your prime years working on your career, family, or a loveless relationship. You can be left feeling like you’ve missed out once age sets in.
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When I move to Spain I was in that position. I chose Spain because It’s Latin images of women feed my imagination towards femininity & I felt like needed a crash course.
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There is a wonderful exercise Laura Bushnell shares in her book, Life Magic…
That has helped me reconnect with my female energy.
It’s called “Breathing In APHRODITE
You can do this on a walk …maybe in nature by yourself, or on a crowded city sidewalk. All that matters is your focus.
As you walk imagine yourself standing next to a beautiful, iconic woman ; for example Sophia Loren. Or Anyone you imagine as your “Ideal” (sexual) energy. Walk close… imagine your arms touching.
Now breathe in that energy… and all the characteristics you imagine them having. Imagine their sensuality the way they move their arms .. their legs… their hips… the tilt of their chin.
Breath that ALL in… as if it’s directly channeling into every fiber of your body. Have fun!!!. __________
The author recommends that you do this exercise for 2 to 5 minutes a day for 21 days and watch what happens.
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Honestly… I felt an amazing shift. I felt more at home in my female body then I thought I would… Try it let me know what you think.
Remember you are an irresistible force of nature you just need to let it show.
Thank you for reading along! Xo Kathy
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KATHY CAMP @living_agelessly is all about Ageless Living & Midlife shifts #ExcorporateChick, World Traveler now a wellness, yoga, lifestyle, business coach living in Spain.